


a pleasant nuisance

by Rehkind



Category: Outlast (Video Games)
Genre: AU, Choking, Choking Kink, Consensual Violence, M/M, Unhealthy Relationships, but hes now bound to a wheelchair and in a new facility, eddie survived the dlc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:46:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23777842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rehkind/pseuds/Rehkind
Summary: Eddie Gluskin survived the incident at Mount Massive and lives now in a rather nice branch of the murkoff psych wards. He's persumed to be harmless, bound to a wheelchair with very weak lungs and seemingly so much anger gone.Not everybody thinks so.Liam, young, energetic, convinced he is innocent, and most importantly, very curious about Gluskin and his past, has decided to try and get to know the man, whatever it may take.
Relationships: Eddie Gluskin/Original Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

“Hello there Liam.”  
Silence.  
“How have you been?”  
No response.  
“Let’s see… according to our plan, we should be talking about your early teen years today.”  
Nothing. 

With a sigh Doctor Lambird pushed his papers aside. In front of him was one of his most frustrating patients to this date. Liam, 27 years old, the quiet type. The last part was only partially true. Liam was very talkative outside the office but once he entered the room, his lips were sealed. He had been here for 2 years already and he didn’t say a single thing to him. Still, Lambird tried his best and he would keep trying as long as possible. Liam deserved help, even if he didn’t think so himself. Lambird had gotten quite attached to him over the years. And today, he might just get his patient to talk. 

“So I heard you’ve found a new object of interest,” he tried to sound casual. “The nurses told me you’ve been following around a certain Gluskin.” Liam took the bait, his eyes went wide and he smiled. “Why don’t you explain to me what’s so interesting about this man?” Liam started tapping his feet to a rhythm only he could hear. “You really wanna know?” His voice was smooth like honey. He looked so happy. Lambird nodded and Liam shifted in his chair. Somehow he wasn’t satisfied until he turned the whole thing around leaned against the backrest. He seemed a lot more comfy now. “Oh where to start. Eddie is just neat you know? He’s so interesting. Sometimes he talks about the old facility and the things he says are batshit crazy but he has no reason to lie, right? So I trust him a little. I just like to listen to him talk you know? Might learn a little for the future.” 

Lambird didn’t like the implication of the last sentence. He wasn’t employed at that station and he hadn’t been properly briefed about the incident either. “Something like that would never happen here,” he still tried to reassure Liam. “But let’s focus more on your newfound interest in Gluskin. How do you feel your presence has affected him?” Liam smiled like an idiot and kept wiggling around. “Oh you know,” he took his time. “He has someone to push his wheelchair around now.” Liam knew this wasn’t what he wanted to know. So he had to probe a little. “Don’t you annoy him with all of your energy? He is an old man after all.” Compared to the both of them, Liam with 27 and Lambird himself with 31, Gluskin really was old. He just turned 50 but he looked even worse. 

“Oh yes, he gets really upset sometimes.” Liam seemed weirdly pleased with himself. “But what is he going to? Get out of his wheelchair and fight me? I don’t think so.” Lambird caught himself smiling, seeing Liam this relaxed. Still, it probably was unwise acting like this around Gluskin. He wasn’t treating him but he did have a look at his files and this man was dangerous. Dangerous with a big hole in his lung but that wouldn’t stop someone who was very determined. “So you are just having fun teasing him?” Liam nodded enthusiastically. “Does he remind you of anyone you knew before?” Liam stopped. He froze, looking really disappointed and then got up. 

“We were just having so much fun, Doc. Why you gotta ruin it by trying to psychoanalyse me like that?” He looked at the clock. Their session would be over anyway. Liam trotted towards the door but then stopped. “He is like Maggie. A lot like her.” He said, only to slam the door closed after him. Lambird just sat there. Yes, he had been anything but subtle. But he could work with that name. 

Another 45 minutes of his life wasted away. Liam sighed, he really thought that the Doc would be interested in talking about the present for once. But no, in the end, he had to disappoint him again. Liam didn’t want to talk about the past or the people he knew back then. They wouldn’t be able to do anything for him anymore. And that’s why he would stop thinking about all of this now and go look for his favorite maniac.  
This ward was made out of two types of people. Old and sick patients who were very much dangerous but kept in check by their own bodies, as well as healthy, young patients who had earned their place here by good behaviour (as long as their crimes weren’t too horrific). Eddie was the first type, Liam the second. It really was a nice place to be at. The doctors and nurses were kind and far too patient with them, they could walk around pretty freely and there was entertainment. While Liam refused to talk about his past with his Doc, he did his damn best to comply with everything else that was expected of him. He didn’t want to lose his privilege of stay here.

Liam had given himself the right to call Eddie by his first name and he knew how much the older man hated to hear him say his name. Eddie looked on in annoyance when he said it with his normal voice, he rolled his eyes when he went for a deep growl and he froze when Liam used the sweetest, softest, womanly-est voice he had. His voice training had to be good for something after all. It’s the least he could do being forced to stay here.

Finding Eddie wasn’t too hard. He was in the cafeteria, obviously having already finished his dinner. Sitting in front of his empty plate, he simply stared outside the large windows. What a perfect setup to slide into his field of view. As soon as Liam arrived, Eddie instantly looked more tired. “Eddie,” he said with a goofy smile. “What do you wanna do this evening? We still have a few hours before curfew.” It seemingly took Gluskin most of his patience to not tell him to fuck off. Liam could watch the whole internal struggle from his front row seat. He had started bothering Eddie a few weeks ago and back then, he hadn't been so nice to him. But apparently he was wearing the old man down. Liam always did so. No one could resist his charm after all.

“Can you play Chess?” Eddie asked. “There’s a board in the library.” Liam thought back - the last time he had played must have been over 10 years ago, back in school. He had only tried it to have an excuse to spend more time with Maggie. But she didn’t mind, back then. “I haven’t played in a while,” he got up. “But I can try.” Eddie pushed himself from the table and took his plate. “Then let’s try.”

They spend the way to the Library chatting. Which meant that Eddie replied in short sentences and Liam blabbered on as he pushed his wheelchair through the halls. “Have you’ve been selected for testing yet?” Eddie asked all of a sudden. Liam sighed, “No. I’m still not sure they are doing any weird science here though. Maybe Murkoff just isn’t interested in this spot here?.” That didn’t seem to ease his mind. “I’ll keep an eye open - if i hear about anyone getting unusual tests during their session, I’ll tell you right away.” Eddie hadn’t told him a lot about the times he had been used as a test bunny. But the look in his eyes when he questioned others about the things they were asked to do by the doctors and nurses - it told more than words could. Eddie was afraid. Which worried Liam because Eddie was the type of person who got angry, not scared because of negative experiences. 

The library was quiet. A nurse sat behind the counter, keeping her eyes on her book and not on the 3 patients already there. They were reading in silence which meant they would most likely expect them to be quiet too. Liam pushed Eddie to the table that was the furthest away from the other people. Setting up the chessboard was easy enough, at least that’s what Liam thought until Eddie reminded him that he was mixing up the position of the rook and the bishop and also the king and queen should be switched - this wasn’t a good sign for Liam’s remaining chess skills. When Liam wanted to ask how exactly that thing worked where you switch the king and the rook, the nurse already shushed them. 

Liam was struggling, visibly so: Knitted eyebrows, fidgety hands and interrupting his own moves times and times again, he trying very hard but it didn’t really work. Eddie seemed very pleased by this whole fiasco and by the time the other patients had left the room, Liam only had one pawn, a knight and his king left. “Check mate,” Eddie grinned. “Wait, I wanna try again!” Liam already started to set the board again but Eddie shook his head. “Tomorrow,” he insisted. “I’m too tired. But you weren’t doing too bad for someone who clearly has no clue what chess is.” Liam stopped putting the figures away. “Oh come on, I have touched a chessboard before. At least three times.” 

When Liam finished cleaning up, Eddie stopped him. “Suzy over there has some smokes in her pocket. Get some, okay?” Liam nodded. Pushing a few books around, he picked one. Walking up to the counter, he gave Suzy a sweet smile. The cigarettes were on the table, open, ready to be taken. “Good evening Suzy - can I take this book with me for the night? I’m having trouble sleeping and I think some light reading could help.” She looked at the clock and then nodded. “Fine, but after that, you two better hurry out of here. We are closing in a few minutes.” Suzy turned around, searching through the drawer for the ancient lending book that the library relied on. When she was sufficiently distracted, Liam picked on up and quickly shoved it into his waistband.

“Here it is, what’s your number?” “243.” “Good, now get lost.” Liam skipped to Eddie and pushed him out of the room. “Thanks Suzy, goodnight!” He cheered. Worldless, they walked through the halls. Liam had a goal - the oldest bathroom of the floor. It was always dirtier than the others but most importantly, no one checked in on it. Liam had some things hidden there, like a box of matches he had found one day. Eddie didn’t know about it but he seemingly trusted his gut. They still had half an hour until they needed to get into their own rooms. Enough time. 

Grabbing the box of matches from the toilet box, he thanked whatever was out there that they didn’t get wet. Walking back to Gluskin, he pulled the cigarette out and handed it to him. Burning a match, he let Eddie light it. Silence filled the room while Eddie slowly looked more and more relaxed. “Aren’t you going to share?” Liam teased after a while. Eddie simply shook his head. “No, it wouldn’t become someone of your… standing.” Liam laughed out loud, sometimes Eddie sounded so strange. “What’s that supposed to mean old man?” Throwing away the last bit of the cigarette into the toilet, Eddie shook his head again. “Doesn’t matter. You know, a few years ago, I would have beaten you up for such a sassy comment.” Liam flushed the toilet and turned to push Eddie again. “Oh I know,” he sounded a bit too careless. “But I doubt you could do that anymore today.”

“Do you want me to try?”  
Liam stopped for a moment.  
What a tempting offer. Liam knew this would hurt. He was playing with fire, being this cocky around Gluskin and until now, the fire had done it’s best not to burn him. But maybe here, in the bathroom no one else ever used, on the dirty tiles, was the right place to try it. Liam would like to get a taste of what Eddie had been at his prime. He sometimes heard the five other patients that had been transferred with Gluskin whisper about him. ‘The groom,’ they called him. When they saw Liam follow Eddie along, he could recognize a mix of worry and disgust in their faces. It was time to discover what had them this disturbed.  
“Give me your best shot,” he leaned close enough that their faces nearly touched. “As long as you promise to kiss it better afterwards,” he added in a cutesy girly voice. 

Wrong move.  
Eddie’s arm shot forward, hand wrapped around Liam’s neck faster than he could finish the sentence. No sounds could leave his throat, all he could do was grab Eddie’s arm and let out a pathetic choking sound. But Eddie’s grip only grew stronger, cutting off any air supply. Liam could feel his head getting dizzier while the actual pain grew more and more distant. Suddenly, Gluskin dropped him.  
Desperately trying to regain the lost air, Liam’s brain returned to normal function and so did the pain. Eddie grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him up, examining the marks he had left. “We shouldn’t have done that,” he said, worried. “Can you talk?” Liam pushed himself up and stood on shaky legs. “Oh are you wo-” He started to cough violently, leaning against the toilet stall to keep his balance. “Yes I can talk,” he said after his throat calmed down again, voice raspy and quiet.  
It burned and hurt and Liam could feel a smile creep up his face. This was bad, objectively. He had gotten injured which could get both of them in trouble. But at the same time, he was excited. Not being bound to a wheelchair, Eddie must have been an unstoppable force. Liam wanted to get to know more about that part of Gluskin. The pain, the excitement, the spike of fear - it was borderline arousing. “You are such a fool,” Eddie sighed. “Takes one to know one,” Liam countered. “Next time, try to be a little gentler to me, okay? I’ll find a way to cover the bruises, don’t worry about that.” Liam took one last look at the mirror and then started to push Eddie out of the room. “There won’t be a next time,” Eddie nearly sounded upset. Liam grinned. “I think I should be the one to decide that.”


	2. hope and dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Lambird wants to show his authority but Eddie and Liam don't really have to suffer any consequenzes

“So Liam.”  
Silence.  
"Our next meeting should have been in 4 days."  
Nothing.  
“So, do you have anything to say about this … situation?”  
Liam stared at him, looking as blank as possible.   
“What’s there to talk about, Doc?”

Liam knew damn well what this was about and Lambird didn’t feel like playing games today. Anny, the nurse who first spotted the marks on his neck, had only recently started working at this facility and she was a little disturbed. She clearly wasn’t used to their normal madness and this was an unnecessary wake up call.  
“Who did this to you Liam?”  
It was clear that Liam was uncomfortable being stuck in that chair. He changed his position up a lot, avoiding direct eye contact. The question was unnecessary of course. There was one person Liam spent time with. Lambird knew it had to be Gluskin. Who else could it have been. 

“No one attacked me.” Liam stated. Lambird got up and walked up to him, stopping just a few centimeters from Liam. He looked down and Liam looked up, which was uncomfortable but that was the point after all. “If no one did this, where does this come from?” he gently laid a finger on one of the marks and Liam flinched away. Liam didn’t reply, he simply stared behind Lambird, a new sort of rage hidden in his eyes. Lambird took a step to build some distance, he might have just crossed a line. 

“Ever heard of autoerotic asphyxiation, Doc?” He made an inappropriate gesture. “Why are you so sure I didn’t just give that a try?” What a ridiculous suggestion. Lambird didn’t even give it a moment of his time. “Don’t bullshit me, I know damn well who did that!” An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Liam stared at the floor, Lambird at the ceiling. This wouldn’t get them anywhere. He had been unprofessional.

“Okay, let’s ignore that for now. Let me take a look at your throat.”

Liam left soon after. He had no life threatening injuries, and he could talk without coughing, there was clearly nothing to worry about, health wise speaking. There was a lot to worry about in all other departments. Lambird had been used to Liam not talking. What he couldn’t stand were the lies. He would prefer silence over blatantly made up stories.This was a clear step backwards. Of course, the elephant in the room had to be addressed too. He needed to talk to Gluskin. He was surprised how easy it was to get to him. He simply asked his colleague, Dr. Tellen, who was responsible for the old man, if he could discuss something with his patient. He was surprised how quickly the other man agreed. 

When the nurse brought Gluskin over, Lambird had destroyed his mood even further by overthinking his options. He gestured to the nurse to leave and let time pass in silence for a bit. Just long enough to be uncomfortable. “Do you think you can just take advantage of someone half your age and no one would notice it?” More silence. “Your actions will have consequences.” Gluskin moved for the first time since being sat down in front of him. He looked up at him and he seemed.. satisfied. He smirked and it made Lambird’s blood boil with rage. “I’m not sure what you are talking about, Sir,” he replied, sounding calm but Lambird could hear the way he was mocking him underneath his breath. “Don’t play dumb with me Gluskin,” Lambird stood up from behind his desk and walked up to the man. “Your actions have consequences here.” The older man didn’t seem impressed. Was he amused or disgusted? It was hard to tell. “What proof do you have?” It was a challenge. Gluskin clearly wasn’t ready to be ordered around by someone in Lambirds position. “The wounds are enough evidence themselves.” He tried to sound confident. Of course, Lambird knew this was a bullshit explanation. Everyone else would accept that Liam had simply developed a brand new self destructive streak. Maybe they would even believe his stupid story of sexual frustration. 

But Gluskin knew all of these things too. And now he knew that Lambird didn’t have some secret weapon to get him into trouble. “Let’s see about that,” Gluskin replied. “Is there anything else you need? I would hate to miss dinner over a little argument.” The audacity - Lambird had to use all his self control to not scream at the man. Instead he simply said: “Leave.” Slowly pushing the wheels of his chair, Gluskin turned around and rolled towards the door. Before he left, he stopped again. “Liam is not your damsel in distress.” And with those words, he left Lambird. “Damsel in distress?” he repeated out loud. What a ridiculous accusation. Lambird was a doctor. This was his job. This had nothing to do with inappropriate feelings or some saviour complex. 

At least not entirely. 

“So,” Liam sounded nervous. “What did he say?” Eddie had just arrived at their table. Liam had already gotten him a plate of soup. “Nothing to worry about. He has no proof of anything.” It felt like a weight was lifted from Liam’s shoulders. “Thank god.” Eddie chuckled when he saw how relieved he was. “He doesn’t seem to be the wittiest out there, your doctor.” Liam chuckled. “He is very bad at hiding his intentions, that’s true. But I like that, means I don’t have to be cautious around him.” They ate in silence, but it was a comfortable one. The last three days, both Eddie and Liam had been on edge, waiting for something to happen. What happened was underwhelming but it was over nonetheless. 

“Now that we are semi safe again,” Liam said when he was finished. “What should we do today?” They still had a few hours to themselves. Eddie looked across the room, eyes stopping on a few patients he knew from … before. They were staring back at him. He hated the look on their faces. “Let’s just get out of here,” he suggested. “Away from the boring folk.” He had noticed that the other patients had treated them differently in the last 3 days. Their eyes were stuck on Liam's neck and he could hear them talk behind their backs. He did not like the words they chose to describe Liam. Eddie had been working on being better, now that he was in an environment that seemingly was built for that cause. He was a different man now. Still, he had to admit that there was some truth to it. Liam belonged to him, to some extent. Not really a ‘pet’ or a ‘hostage’ as the others called him but he was still following him around. He wasn’t sure what they were. An pleasantly annoying acquaintance? Friends? Maybe. Eddie just did not understand why. 

Liam already had a spot in mind when he wheeled Eddie out of the cafeteria. The weather couldn't really be called nice, too windy and cold but it was good enough to let the staff open the inner courtyard for a few hours. Of course, there were quite a few people already outside, desperately trying to get all the fresh air and sun they could, in case the garden would be off limits again soon. Liam seemed to have similar plans. Chatting on, Liam’s mind seemed free of worry, just running from topic to topic like an excited dog. Eddie wasn’t as peaceful. When they left the room, he could hear one of the other inmates he used to hunt whisper. “Already tired of his bride, huh?”

Eddie would have jumped up and murdered the man on the spot if it weren’t for his legs. Liam wasn’t his- his bride. He was a man. There was no way Eddie would fall back into old habits like cutting people apart to fit his expectations. Especially Liam. Since the choking, Eddie had become more and more aware of the fact that his friend was quite weak. Maybe even fragile. So breakable. Which was a womanly attribute, right? Eddie had to stop his train of thought. He knew thinking like this was wrong. Thinking about Liam… he had to restrain himself. He should be reasonable. 

“Do you wanna sit in the sun or shade?” Liam pulled him out of his mind. They had already reached the garden. “Over there looks suitable.” He pointed to one of the trees, as far away from any others as possible. Liam seemed to take no note of it or at least didn't deem it worth a comment. Sometimes Eddie wondered how much he really knew about the things that had happened at mount massive. People talked. He shouldn't worry about it. They just sat there for a while, doing nothing but enjoying the fresh air. Eddie broke the silence. “What would you do first if you got out?” Liam looked up to him, caught off guard, big eyes glittering in the sun. Eddie knew that Liam would look like a model once he would be allowed to dress and style himself according to his own wishes again. Liam had that type of inherent elegance, no matter what he did. He could be walking down the halls, shoveling soup down his throat, having hands wrapped around his neck… Eddie looked away. His mind was wandering too far again. 

Liam smirked. "I guess I would go home. Not permanently, god no, I just wanna see that shitty town again for one last time. Maybe break into my parents home and get some of my old stuff. After that? I would probably travel around, maybe see if I can get to some border or get caught on the way there." He looked up at Eddie and grinned. "Why are you asking, old man? Do you have an escape plan and need an accomplice?" Eddie laughed. He hadn't considered trying anything like that in a long time. His lungs were too weak and his legs too reliant on the wheelchair but it was an amusing thought, him on the run. "No, sadly not." Liam kept grinning but Eddie could see a tiny sliver of disappointment in his eyes. "Well, what would you do?" Good question, Eddie hadn't really given it much thought out of sheer impossibility. With his physical state and the fact that despite his best efforts to improve, he still was a serial killer and furthermore a witness to Murkoff's illegal dealings, there was no way he would ever leave that place. He probably didn't deserve it either. Liam had better chances, in his opinion. "Hide somewhere in the deep forests until I die off a punctured lung." 

"That's depressing." "It's realistic."

A short silence filled the room between them again, until Liam spoke up again. "Let's say, hypothetically, you get out and someone very sexy and talented decides to stick around and keep you from dying from over exhausting your fucked up lung. What would you do?" Eddie would have made some remark if Liam hadn't looked so serious. "Get shot by the police." - "Oh come on, old man, you have to play along." He sighed. Sure, he could indulge this bit of wish fulfillment. "I would like to see the ocean." He had never been there, it would be a nice thing to see before he died. Maybe he'd even end it there himself, before he got caught and returned to Murkoff for whatever disgusting experiments they would make up for him. Eddie would do anything to avoid ending up like back then, tubes shoved into his body, pumping god knows what into his system. He didn't want to lose control again. 

"I'll put that on the list for when we get out of here," Liam avoided looking at Eddie and stared into the sky. How silly, to think they could do something like that. "I think you need to be a lot more 'sexy and talented' as you called it to get both of us out of here," Eddie sighed. "You're underestimating my skills," he huffed but then grinned. He got up and stretched. "I'm not saying I have a plan or anything. All I mean is that if I ever get the option to get out of here, I'm taking you with me." Unable to stop his train of thoughts, he could see the two of them, together, out there. At the beach, Liam on his knees, Eddie's hands wrapped around his throat. "You'd be better off without me." Liam sighed and started pushing Eddie back inside. "You don't need a deadweight. Better save yourself. Your chances to get out and hide are good, you're not convicted of murder after all." What would Liam even gain from taking him along? "Wow, you are a party pooper. Stop ruining my daydreams, old man," he said, half joking, half serious. 

Liam was uncharacteristically quiet as they returned back inside. Was he really upset because of that? The next few hours were nearly pleasant, Liam's otherwise extreme energy toned down. But Eddie knew that something was wrong. They were reading and discussing recent events, avoiding the Lambird situation completely. It was close to night when Liam finally snapped out of it. They were pushing Eddie back to their room. When the corridor was empty, Liam leaned closer, and whispered. "You know, I'm not stupid. I know who you are and what you did. That won't stop me from taking you along with me. You're not getting rid of me that easily." Seeing Eddie tense up hearing those words seemed to cheer Liam up. He grinned and sped up a little. Eddie tried to form a sentence, some question, anything but his tongue seemed to be tied. Liam continued before Eddie could regain his composure. "And I'm not as innocent as you think either." What was that supposed to mean? Was he really admiting to murder here, out in the open? Stopping in front of Eddie's door, Liam stretched and smiled. "Well, good night I guess."

What the fuck. Eddie sat there, in silence, wanting to ask so much but lacking the means to do so. So Liam claimed to know. But whatever he knew, it didn't seem to bother him as much as it should. Eddie shook his head and went ahead. No need to overthink now, when nothing could be done. Tomorrow, Liam was going to have to explain some things.


End file.
